Vladimir Putin vows ‘victory’ as Ukraine war bogs down

Vladimir Putin has pledged ‘victory’ in Ukraine as he staged an upbeat press conference a week after announcing plans to stay in the Kremlin until at least 2030.

Vladimir Putin has pledged “victory” in Ukraine as he staged an upbeat press conference a week after announcing plans to stay in the Kremlin until at least 2030.

Russian forces were “improving their position on almost the entire line of contact” in Ukraine, the Russian President said overnight on Thursday.

Bolstered by Kyiv’s battlefield struggles and war fatigue in the West, Mr Putin looked relaxed as he brushed off nearly two years of international sanctions and reaffirmed his maximalist goals in Ukraine.

“I am sure that victory will be ours,” he said during his first end-of-year media appearance since Russia shocked the world by sending troops into Ukraine in February last year.

His four-hour appearance came at one of the lowest points for Kyiv in the conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and erased entire cities across Ukraine’s southeast.

Ukraine’s summer counter­offensive petered out without making much progress and its Western support is fraying amid political wrangling in Washington and frictions within the EU.

The US congress is deadlocked on a new aid package that President Joe Biden has depicted as desperately needed to help Ukraine fight off Russia.

The US Senate, which was due to start its holiday recess on Friday AEDT, will reconvene on Monday in an effort to reach a deal.

Democrats support the $US61m ($91bn) package of military, ­humanitarian and macro-economic assistance but Republican representatives are demanding concessions from the White House on immigration and security along the Mexican border as the price for lifting their opposition to the

A giant screen broadcasting Russian President Vladimir Putin's year-end press conference is seen on the facade of a residential building as people sit in a cafe in Moscow. Picture: AFP

new aid package.

Mr Putin’s conference coincided with a crucial summit in Brussels during which EU leaders overcame resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and agreed to open formal ­accession talks with Kyiv.

Mr Orban blocked €50bn ($82bn) in EU aid for Ukraine, after leaders sidestepped his ­opposition to agree to open talks with Kyiv on joining the bloc.

The EU’s other 26 leaders agreed to come back to the debate at a fresh meeting early next year to try to thrash out an agreement on the desperately needed support for Kyiv.

“With 26 countries we agree. There is no agreement from Hungary at the moment, but I am very confident for next year,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

The blockage from the Hungarian nationalist – Russia’s best friend in the EU – dealt a blow to Kyiv and its backers.

But the historic accession decision delivered a rare dose of good news to the Ukrainian leader, who is facing growing political infighting at home and fading support from key players in Washington.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the EU vote “a victory that motivates, ­inspires, and strengthens”.

In his TV address, Mr Putin ­stressed that Western sanctions and international isolation had done little to hurt Russia’s economy or morale.

“There is enough for us not only to feel confident, but to move forward,” he said.

The echoes of Russia’s military operation reverberated in the grand Moscow hall where hundreds of journalists passed four police checkpoints to hear Mr Putin speak.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the US Army Command in Europe in Wiesbaden during a surprise vist to Germany on Friday. Picture: AFP

Russia earlier said it had downed nine Ukrainian drones heading for Moscow,and Ukraine said it had shot down all but one of the 42 Russian drones targeting Odesa, in a barrage that wounded 11 people.

Mr Putin’s choreographed call-in show was cancelled last year as Moscow reeled from military failures, with Ukraine managing to repel the Kremlin’s initial assault on Kyiv and then regaining territory in the east and south.

Ukraine’s strong resistance and support from its allies had surprised observers around the world and in Moscow, where many had expected to take Kyiv in a few days.

Now, Mr Putin appears to be sensing the tide turning in his favour.

He reaffirmed the same military objectives on Thursday as he did when launching his campaign, insisting that Kyiv required “de-Nazification and demilitarisation”, as well as future neutrality.

Moscow, meanwhile, is still able to sustain its military effort through oil sales, which Mr Putin discussed this month in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

AFP